Monday, April 28, 2008

On Thursday we drove our little Renault (Pachito) up to Todos Santos (All Saints.) This sleepy little town was a wonderful change from the hustle and bustle of touristy Los Cabos. Near the center of Todos Santos is the church called "Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Todos Santos." I stood in the front of the sanctuary and facing the rear of the church sang the "Apostles' Creed." I counted twice and determined that the room had a five second decay/reverb. In other words you could still hear my voice a full 5 seconds after I stopped singing. Enthralling, actually. Maybe we can arrange to have a Trinity Church psalm-sing there somtime.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Wednesday: We rode horses along the beach near San Jose del Cabo. Our wrangler (whose name I could neither discern nor pronounce) was from Poland of all places. We had a nice little chat about Polish towns, mature versus immature cultures and European architecture. But the really amazing thing about the horsie-ride was that I did not have any near-death experiences. Not even close. Sore knees and buttocks, but no “Wow, that horse has never, ever done that before!” Gracias Dios.

In the evening we went on a dinner cruise that took us around the Cabo San Lucas bay and out towards the Pacific Ocean. At dinner, we shared a table with a nice couple from Regina, SK, Canada. It was fascinating to hear their takes on the current presidential campaign, the oil boom in Saskatchewan, as well as the pluses and minuses of the Canadian health-care system.

Here is a picture of our rental car. We had a Ford Exhale (Expectorate, Exhume, Examine, Exfoliate???….whatever) booked, but they gave us this instead. I haven’t driven a European car for awhile, so it’s been kinda fun. It’s small inside, but it gets pretty good gas mileage.

No, silly. It’s not the yellow Porsche in the foreground, it’s the little copper colored Renault in the background. Did you really think?...Fugitaboudit!!!

Friday: We (Ellen and I) flew non-stop from SeaTac to San Jose Del Cabo, BCS. As we were leaving the airport we were accosted by a gentleman (Luis) who (according to him) was there to help us find our rented car. It turned out Luis worked for a large resort and gave us a great deal on a car-rental ($85 for the week) in exchange for listening to a time-share sales presentation (at the close of which we said, "Thank you, but no.")

Saturday: The Pueblo Bonita resort was breathtakingly beautiful, the presentation very interesting and the sales pressure very high. But we politely said “no thank you”, grabbed our vouchers and vamoosed.

Sunday: We worshipped at an English-speaking church recommended to us by our salesman at Pueblo Bonita. As always it was great to be with the LORD’s people on the LORD’s Day. The communion meditation, given by a layman, was a brief but poignant summary of the life of Christ and brought us both to tears. The sermon almost brought us to tears for an entirely different reason. As Dave Barry likes to say, “I am not making this up.” Instead of a Bible the pastors used, what he even termed “props”: beach-balls, golf clubs, umbrellas, fishing poles, etc. The message was, “Remember folks, church attendance is optional. We’re under grace, not law. So, this summer when you’re out golfing or fishing on Sunday morning, just remember to take Jesus with you.” We met and greeted several of the brethren during and after the service and are truly thankful to have done so. It’s so wonderful to have family wherever you travel! But we left the storefront sanctuary aching and praying for the starving sheep of this fold, and trembling for what that pastor will have to explain when he is called to give an account for the souls in his care (Hebrews 13:7ff.)

Monday: Toured around town. In addition to the globally ubiquitous “McDonalds” and “Subway” stores, Cabo San Lucas also has a “Costco”, “Sam’s Club”, “Office Max”, “Radio Shack” and yes, even a “Wal-Mart.” It’s getting harder and harder to leave the US when you leave the US.

!Hola from Los Cabos! First, a little geography lesson: Baja California is the thousand mile peninsula that extends south below San Diego, CA. The Baja Peninsula separates the Pacific Ocean (to the west) from the Sea of Cortez (to the east.) The lower 500 miles of the peninsula is the Mexican state of Baja California Sur (a.k.a. BCS) whose capital is the city of La Paz.

At the southernmost tip of Los Cabos (the cape) is the bustling tourist town of Cabo San Lucas (the Cape of St. Luke.) Los Cabos receives about three inches of rain per year, so the water for the city is desalinized sea water, done so via a process called “reverse osmosis.” This means the water in this part of Mexico is very safe to drink and makes it near impossible to contract the dreaded “Montezuma’s Revenge.”

Workers for the thriving tourist industry are imported from all over Mexico and, for the most part, are well-treated and well-paid, keeping crime to a minimum. One resort we visited, gives imported workers free housing for two years and after that helps their employees to purchase their own homes.

Monday, April 21, 2008

!Holah! Ellen and I arrived safely here in Cabo San Lucas last Friday evening. We have a nice little studio condo over-looking Monument Bay (one of the prime surfing beaches in the area.) The weather is great (low 90's) during the day and cooling off at night. We are here to celebrate our 25th anniversary and have had a marvellous time recounting God's blessings upon our union. So far we're up to about 1988.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

God's promises are so vast and amazing that the only way to embrace them is by faith. Neither reason nor Kierkegaard's "leap into the void" will do. Only resting in what God has declared in His most holy Word.

One of the promises "too glad to be true" is God's covenant to bless His people "unto a thousand generations." Pictured below are four of such. Little Will is the only and firstborn son of Josiah, the eldest and firstborn son of Gene, the eldest and firstborn son of Verle, the eldest and firstborn son of Harold (not pictured) who was himself the eldest and firstborn son of John (not pictured.)

Looking at this picture I am near moved to tears as I am reminded of the blessings that I enjoy both up and downstream. And this is but 4/1000ths of what God has promised to those who believe what He has revealed about His extravagant love for the world.